Highland Hellcat

by Mary Wine

  His words were hypnotic, drawing her deeper into his eyes while her body hummed with anticipation. She didn’t want to fight with him, but that didn’t mean she was feeling submissive either. Fire was licking its way across her skin, chasing the chill away while the scent of his skin teased her with how near he was.

  It wasn’t close enough.

  “Let’s no’ talk. We can never agree when we talk.” Her voice was steady and strong, each bold word increasing her confidence. “Touch me, Connor, before I think of the reasons why I should refuse ye.”

  There was a flash of agreement in his eyes that she only saw for a moment before he angled his head so that he could press a kiss against her mouth. It wasn’t a soft kiss, but one that was full of passion and need. Her body didn’t heat up gradually this time. The memory of last night swept her into a vortex of hunger that became acute almost instantly.

  She reached for his shirt, pushing it upward even as she kissed him back. He pulled his lips away from hers so that she could lift the shirt over his head and pull it down the length of his arms.

  “I insist on returning the favor, Brina.”

  He slid one arm beneath her waist and lifted her up and onto her knees. The position allowed him to tug her underrobe up, baring her legs and then her body before he removed it completely. Her hair fluttered down to lay against her back and part of her front. Her skin was alive with heightened sensation, making her extremely aware of the delicate fibers settling against her form.

  “Ye’re beautiful, Brina, and I admit that I enjoy the fact that I know I’m the first man to tell ye that.”

  Her arms had risen up to cover her breasts. Excitement was still flickering in her belly, making it impossible to become fearful, but she was a bit apprehensive. He reached out and plucked her hand away from where it hid one of her breasts from his view. Connor pulled it gently toward him, turning it up so that he might lean down and kiss the delicate skin of her inner wrist. Pleasure rippled up her arm and into her chest.

  “And ye humble me with yer genuine responses.” He lifted his head, his eyes full of male enjoyment that she might have mistaken for smugness if there were others about to hear him.

  But inside the drawn curtains, with only one side still open to catch the last of the heat from the fire, there was no one to impress with his words.

  Except her.

  Her cheeks filled with heat, and he chuckled before leaning over to kiss the scarlet blush.

  “Ah… the most perfect compliment that I might ever receive from ye, Brina.”

  He pressed a row of kisses along her face until he claimed her lips once more with a kiss that was full of rising passion. His hands pulled her to him, and she gasped as their bare skin met, the amount of sensation threatening to drown her.

  It was a fate that she went to willingly. Her hands threaded through his hair, while her mouth followed his lead, kissing him with the hunger that seemed to sprout up from the seeds left from last night.

  His hands traveled down from her nape, where he’d held her in place for his kiss. Now he slid his hands over her shoulders and down to cup both her breasts while he pressed her back into the bedding once again.

  She sighed with delight, the feeling of his hands cupping her soft breasts a hundred times more enjoyable than the memory of it. She arched up, offering her nipples to his mouth, and Connor did not disappoint her. He captured one puckered point, sucking it between his lips and drawing a moan from her. The contact was hot but intensely pleasurable too.

  Connor didn’t linger very long but continued to press kisses along her belly, going lower and lower, until her eyes opened wide when she realized that he was hovering over her mons.

  “What are ye doing?” Her voice was husky and unrecognizable, but the chuckle that answered her was one she recalled from the darkest hours of last night when Connor had been her lover, and she his consort.

  “Did ye think that we had explored all the delights lovers might know last night, Brina? I assure ye, we did nae, but I plan to.”

  He pressed one of her thighs up and out so that her sex was spread. She felt the folds that protected the tiny bead that had given her such enjoyment last night open and allow it to be brushed by the night air.

  She shivered, the sensation almost too intense to endure.

  “Connor, ye cannae.”

  He pushed her other thigh aside and settled on his elbows between her knees. “Oh, sweet Brina, I assure ye that I can and will.”

  His fingers glided along her inner thighs, sending torrents of delight through her. The walls of her passage felt empty and needy, while the folds of her sex begged for a stroke from his fingertips.

  Connor didn’t disappoint her. His hands grazed over the top of her sex, the softest of contacts at first, but she arched and heard her own voice echoing off the chamber wall.

  The next touch was firmer, his fingers slipping between the folds of her slit until one fingertip glided over the small center of her pleasure.

  “Here’s the spot I was seeking.”

  He drew a lazy circle over it, and she shuddered because it truly was the center of her pleasure. Need and hunger became roaring demands from her body as he toyed with the little bead. Her hips arched to press it more firmly against his touch, but he moved his fingers to pull her folds completely away from her bead.

  “Connor…”

  Brina had no idea if she was protesting his actions or praising them. She felt caught in the whirling center of the storm, suspended between pleasure and where hunger became pain.

  “I’m going to taste ye, lass.”

  His voice was a low growl that sent a shaft of excitement through her. It was so intense that the first touch of his lips against her center nearly sent her into the pulsing rapture that had claimed her last night.

  But not quite.

  She was still quivering, her hands curling into talons among the bedding beneath her when Connor pressed a kiss against her open sex. She cried out and didn’t care who heard her. The sensation was so intense, it made her heart beat at a frantic pace as she felt the flicker of his tongue over her center. His hands kept her in place because she had no control over her body. She twisted and arched in response to the flicking tongue. The pleasure drew her muscles taut, so tight, it felt as if they might snap as he continued to feast on her. The need to have him fill her passage became so strong, she snarled with it.

  Connor lifted his head and looked up her body. He teased her with a single finger now that did nothing to relieve the pressure pulsing in her belly.

  “Connor… I need more.”

  Her teeth were bared as need reduced her to serving the needs of her flesh.

  His eyes flashed something at her that set her temper to boiling.

  “And I need yer oath that ye will wed me.”

  He pressed harder on her center, driving her hunger to a pitch that almost frightened her with how badly she wanted release. His eyes were hard and unyielding as he tormented her flesh, keeping her twisting beneath his touch but taking her no further while his demand hung over her.

  “Damn ye to hellfire, Connor Lindsey!”

  She snarled at him, more furious than she had ever been. Frustration tore through her like a storm, and she curled her hands into fists with her rage.

  “You want trust but torment me in order to get it!” She felt her fist connect with his shoulder, and satisfaction rose with the pain that traveled along her arm. It broke through the spell binding her to his touch.

  “It is unfair!”

  She sent her fist toward his jaw, rising up off the bed to do battle with him, but he raised one hand and captured her blow, his fingers closing around her hand with enough force to keep it prisoner. The hunger he’d stoked to such a burning intensity inside her was cruelly twisting and clawing at her insides. It was impossible to remain still,
and she kicked and struggled against him and the bed while wrestling with the desire to simply give him what he demanded so that he would satisfy the raging storm of hunger trapped inside her.

  “I hate the position ye have put me in.”

  But he faced her with an expression that was firm and unyielding in its determination.

  “You should nae be able to use my body against me. What is an oath worth when it is sworn under such conditions? Is that what ye truly want from me? I believed ye to have more integrity than this form of torture.”

  In an abrupt change, her mood became one of lament. The fight drained out of her, leaving her moaning with the need that still nipped at her body. It was an agony, one that made her shiver and pull her arm back so that she could hug herself for the small amount of comfort it might provide. The yearning was more than physical, it was deeper, in that place that craved the intimacy they had shared last night.

  “Ye have that right to be angry with me, Brina. Even if I do nae care for how it makes me feel to admit it, ye are correct, I want an oath from ye that ye truly mean.”

  He rolled over and settled against the bed with the plump pillows at his back. She still wanted him too much, her body quivering in response to the sight of his erect member. Her passage wanted it inside her, and even her temper didn’t have the power to wipe that aside. But he snarled something in Gaelic that kept her still and waiting to see what he had to say.

  “Being a laird comes with as many responsibilities as being born the daughter of a laird does.”

  His quiet tone drew her attention, cutting through her emotions with how honest he sounded. They were suddenly not so very different from one another, and that made it impossible for her to maintain her fury. Instead she felt a kinship with him that struck her as tender. She felt it in her heart, and there was no denying it. Somehow the idea that he was willing to explain his reasons to her lifted her out of the role of captive and set her on equal standing with him. It was a small offering of respect that she realized she needed more desperately than anything else.

  “I can agree with ye on that, Connor.”

  He nodded, a gleam of approval appearing in his eyes.

  “Marrying for a strong alliance is my duty, Brina, and before ye say anything about yer sister, I’ll tell ye a fact that ye do no’ know. Ye know I have a sister that the Douglas stole away after killing my Uncle and Aunt. Vanora is twelve now and the Douglas have a firm plan to wed her soon and attempt to take Lindsey land through her dowry. They’ve no care for the fact that she is too young to be bedded.”

  “Sweet Mary…”

  Connor shook his head. “There is naught holy about it, Brina. It is a greedy attempt to extend their borders. I negotiated with yer father because I need to have the Chattans standing firmly beside me when I demand my sister be returned or disinherited.”

  “Disinherited?” Such was worse than being sent to the church, for even a holy order wouldn’t have a girl who came with nothing.

  “It’s the only thing I can think of that will force them to relinquish her instead of wedding her too young, without a care for the fact that she might well die in childbirth without needing to.”

  “That’s horrible.”

  He pressed his lips into a hard line, making no further attempt to defend his actions. Brina could suddenly hear the wind again and the ocean. But what she yearned to feel was the warm skin of the man lying so close and yet so far away from her. The world was too cold a place, and taking solace in his embrace was very appealing. She suddenly felt like she was squandering the opportunity to be cherished when there was no promise of having another offer extended to her. They had the night, and who knew what morning would bring.

  “Ye’re correct that I should nae be using my greater knowledge of bed sport against you, but it is the truth that I have no taste for bending ye to my will. Ye are an honest lass, one I admire for the spirit that refuses to allow ye to yield to something ye consider in conflict with yer duty. I can understand that, lass, for my life has its burdens too, but ye’re here now, and life as my wife does nae displease ye as it would a lass truly devoted to the church.”

  He lifted his hand and offered it to her with the palm facing upward.

  “So perhaps I’ll try asking ye to wed me because it would bring me joy, and I promise ye that I will secure yer father’s blessing, but that will take time.”

  Her breath caught in her throat, and her hand was in his before she thought about it. Every bit of conscious thought evaporated, leaving behind only the need to be near him, the distance between them too harsh to endure now that she felt like they were kindred spirits.

  He wrapped her in a solid and secure embrace that was a haven from the ugly matters surrounding their lives. Brina lifted her face, seeking his kiss, and Connor didn’t disappoint her. His mouth took command of hers, pressing her to open her jaw and allow his tongue to thrust boldly inside. She quivered against him, her body eager for the hard thrust of his flesh against hers.

  He didn’t roll over her though. Instead his hands cupped her hips and lifted her up and onto his lap. Her own weight spread her thighs around his hips, opening her sex so that the hard length of his member lay against her slit. She gasped and pulled away from his kiss, only to discover him grinning at her. From her position, she sat above him, his head even with her breasts, his blue eyes filled with appreciation of the view.

  “What are ye doing, Connor?”

  “Taking the opportunity to have ye ride me.”

  Her pleasure center throbbed, and her passage renewed its demand that she feel him stretching her once again. But the image that his words painted in her mind sent a surge of wicked anticipation through her.

  “Aye, ye are thinking of it, aren’t ye, lass?”

  He lifted her high enough so that his cock sprang up beneath her. The head of it settled against the opening to her passage, and Connor slowly allowed more of her weight to lower. Brina realized that she could control her own descent with her thighs, and she braced her hands on his shoulders as he guided her down onto his length. Her passage ached only a fraction of the amount that it had the night before, and there was never any true pain. Instead she moaned as his hard flesh filled her, satisfying the need that felt as though it were intent on driving her insane.

  “That’s the way, lass. Ride me, take what it is ye desire.”

  There was a hard edge to his tone, a challenge she was eager to rise to. She watched his eyes flash with hunger, and she lifted herself off him, only to feel his hands push her back down.

  Pleasure spiked through her, sending her back up the moment she felt him completely lodge inside her. Beneath her hands, she felt his chest vibrate with a chuckle that was dark with passion. Her breasts bounced with her motions, and his gaze shifted to them, his lips thinning while he watched them. His hands tightened on her hips, urging her faster, and she did not resist. All the need that had twisted so tightly inside her demanded that she rise and fall with a growing wildness. She craved the burst of rapture that had satisfied her so completely last night, and she could feel it brightening in the distance, twinkling and beckoning to her.

  Pleasure surged through her a moment later, tearing aside every thought or idea as it ripped through her belly. Connor surged up, rolling her over and onto her back in the middle of the bed. The ropes creaked beneath the mattress as he thrust hard and quick into her spread body. Brina was lost in a storm of delight that wrung her like a piece of cloth, the hard, pounding thrusts of her lover only drawing out the pleasure.

  He suddenly groaned and thrust deep inside her. She felt the spurt of his seed, hot and thick against the mouth of her womb. Her eyes flew open, and she discovered Connor’s blue ones watching her while her passage tightened around his member, intent on milking every last drop of his offering. Another burst of pleasure went through her. This time it was deeper and duller, but whe
n it finally released her, satisfaction glowed warmly through her body. There wasn’t a single place left untouched by the rapture, and when Connor closed his body around hers, his arms binding her against him so that she heard his heart beating with the same accelerated pace as her own, she allowed herself to slip away into slumber, because the moment truly was perfect.

  ***

  Connor didn’t sleep as quickly. He nuzzled against the head of his partner, inhaling the sweet scent of her hair. It spread around her like a cloud, and he gathered it up, laying it over her shoulder so that it would not become tangled. He wasn’t cold, but he pulled the covers over her and listened to the sounds of the surf coming through the open window. It was a sound that he’d listened to in the stable, and it stirred up the memory of the goals that he had once used to keep himself alive.

  For the moment, one of them was sitting firmly in his grasp. Brina would wed him, and Robert Chattan would stand beside him against the Douglas. He should have been focused on the alliance, but instead he was more interested in the way Brina felt against him.

  She wasn’t the first woman he’d lain with, but she was the only one who interested him enough that he was happy to lie there and listen to the sound of her breathing. He was more content than he could ever recall being, a sense of happiness settling over him as the candles began to burn low. He never rose to extinguish them but closed his eyes and drifted off into slumber along with Brina.

  ***

  The window shutters were still open, and Brina could see the faint glow of dawn illuminating them when she lifted her eyelids. Maybe it was the fact that they had retired so early last night or the sheer abundance of emotions that had coursed through her, but she was wide awake now at the very first hint of day. Her mind was fully alert, beginning to tumble the things that she wanted to do, and she felt eager to begin, too much so to remain in bed.

  “Where are ye going so early, Brina?”

  Connor’s voice was slurred as he turned to eye her with sleep still clouding his vision.